What It Takes to Remember
by Whitecherry212
Summary: Finally with three; there was an attempted murderer out loose in the world, and it would be he, Gilbert Beilschmidt that would track them down and make them suffer for what they had done to Roderich.  PrusAus Fanfic. Yaoi, so don't like, don't read dears!
1. Chapter 1

Welcome all to my first Chapter of What It Takes to Remember! This happens to be an AustriaxPrussia/RoderichxGilbert/PrusAus fanfic, with occasional hints of other minor pairings. Before I also give you a rough summary, I would like to say a few words. First off this is dedicated to one of the greatest people and an awesome friend of mine, and I hope they know who they are. I would like to thank my friend Neko also for going over my work before I even have the slight courage to post it up here. Finally, all my friends that I rp with, I want you to know that I thank you for all the support you've given me.

Gilbert's stumbling over a body on a sidewalk leads to Roderich landing in the hospital with severe cerebral hemorrhaging and nine stab wounds, along with a bout of amnesia. What Gilbert now knows is this:

One; someone had violently attacked Roderich, bludgeoning him once in the head hard enough to cause damage, before stabbing him approximately nine times.

Two; he seemed to have complete amnesia of his life due to head trauma. This was some that he would need to fix.

Finally with three; there was an attempted murderer out loose in the world, and it would be he, Gilbert Beilschmidt that would track them down and make them suffer for what they had done to Roderich.

* * *

Warmth...

It was all he could remember, before waking up to the clinking, beeping, and screeching of machines, with people crowded around him in masks and strange clothes. Some were shouting to others, while others were mumbling softly to their partners standing next to them.

All that noise... and that was when a paroxysm of pain washed over him. His body felt as though it was on fire, and his head as if it had been split open. One man in the blue-green garb noticed he was awake, and spoke to him.

"Sir? Sir! Can you hear me sir? Say something sir if you can hear me!"

"...Burning."

"Thank you sir. I need an anesthetist immediately!"

"Where...am I?"

"Hospital. Mind telling me your name sir?"

The brunette's face scrunched immediately, a look of struggle as though he was working hard to remember. "I...don't know...do you perhaps?"

-x-

It had taken a while before Gilbert was released from police custody, and even more time to get to the hospital. Not that he really even cared at all for the Austrian's welfare, oh hell no. He was far too awesome for that at all! No, after finding the brunette crumpled on the ground, in a pool of his own blood and near close to death, Gilbert had taken on the important duty of playing lifesaver and calling for help, and then to the police. Roderich was his cousin of course, that's why he was going! Pfft, like he'd ever be in love with the Austrian.

Now, he was speeding, fresh new clothes instead of his blood stained ones thanks to trying to help keep Roderich alive. His mind though, was distracted, only able to keep replaying the scene of his early morning.

_The street lights flickered as the albino walked home from the local bar. The day had been typical; Ludwig had spent his time working like an apparent "normal" person did, while Gilbert had been out bothering Francis and Antonio, due to Roderich going to a meeting for diplomatic reasons. As soon as his bruder had come home though, Gilbert had quickly taken Ludwig by the arm, forcing him to the bar where they drank. Even when hours later, the blonde had excused himself from the elder man's side, mumbling something about the little Italian that he was always with, Gilbert had just continued his drinking, only now in the early morning was he going home, as always._

_It wasn't as if he wasn't used to bodies of people, such as drunkards to be on the sidewalks or in the streets. Hell, at times that was even himself laying there, wasted badly on the frigid pavement. So there was no surprise as he stumbled over a body, cursing under his breath because of the dim light._

"_Oi. Dummkopf...you can't lay here idiot, or someone less awesome as myself will trip over you, kesesese~" There was no answer to his remark, but a slight gurgling noise. The Prussian reached down, his hand going to the person's shoulder, trying to shake them. "Dude, c'mon!" But the hand was enveloped in fluid, something warm, sticky...where had that tangy smell of iron come from? Flipping out his cell phone, the brilliant light that emanated from the LED screen showed the red substance that coated his palm, and oozing from the crumpled and bleeding figure, with a mess of brown hair...a set of crushed glasses...and that curl..._

"_Oh Gott...oh Gott no."_

_Gilbert moved fast, one hand dialing for a dispatcher of an ambulance, the other flipping the bloody body of Roderich Edelstein over, shouting at the receiver with the man in his arms. "Get the fuck over here! There is a man __**dying**__ in my arms!"  
_

He probably broke a record for the fastest sprinter from a hospital parking lot to the floor. It had taken about fifteen minutes max for him to make it to Roderich's room, where many nurses and doctors were just only now coming out, some with grim faces. An elder doctor who had just made it out of the door looked at him, stopping in front of the albino. "Do you know him?"

Shit, maybe he shouldn't have come in the end, but as he was here, he seemed to see no way of turning back now. "J-Ja...Roderich Edelstein?" The dude that came in bleeding a lot? He's...still...alive right?"

This caused a smile to rise to the man's face. "Yes, though I must say it was quite a challenge for us. But the most important thing is that you seemed to know him." His face seemed to lower, his voice doing the same. "As we did not, and nor does your friend. Please, feel free to visit him of course, just be careful. He's had severe cerebral hemorrhaging from the head trauma; in fact that alone is enough to kill. He's lucky to be alive from that sir. Also, he sustained several stab wounds around several vital organs. But you seemed to have been there to save him in the nick of time. You were the one that called, correct?" Gilbert nodded absentmindedly, peering into the enclosed space where Roderich lay, machines all around him.

After a while more of talking, what Gilbert has ascertained was this. One; someone had violently attacked Roderich, bludgeoning him once in the head hard enough to cause damage, before stabbing him approximately nine times. Two; he seemed to have complete amnesia of his life due to head trauma. This was some that he would need to fix. Finally with three; there was an attempted murderer out loose in the world, and it would be he, Gilbert Beilschmidt that would track them down and make them suffer for what they had done to Roderich.

-x-

Stark white walls surrounded the injured man, who was staring at the mechanized contraptions around him in amazement. All attention of his had drifted to the heart monitor, not noticing the creaking of his room's door or the figure that slinked in. Roderich nearly jumped out of his skin when the strange white haired and scarlet eyed man sat down in front of him, blocking the monitor and talking.

"Feeling any better?"

"Better than earlier, but I think that is mostly to do with the fact that I'm being pumped full of drugs."

"Still…it's better than nothing, am I right?"

"I suppose so. I know this is going to sound horribly rude but...do I happen to know you?"

"O-Oh...right...j-ja. I'm Pr- just call me Gilbert."

"Gil...bert?"

"You got it~ Actually, it's Gilbert Beilschmidt, but last names aren't that important to me. Or, if you truly feel the need to, you may freely address me as 'Lord Awesome' or 'Embodiment of All That is Sexy in the World'."

"I think I'll stick to Gilbert Beilschmidt. But...then what...about me?"

"Hmm? Oh...you're Aust- well...you're Roderich...Roderich Edelstein. But I like to call you Roddy the best, kesesese!"

Something, some slight spark in a dark and fuzzy part of the brunette's mind seemed to poke and prod his thoughts, faintly yelling at him to tell the other man to not call him that and that he was an idiot.

"I think...I like Roderich better."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Guys! Whitecherry here obviously. I would like to take a moment to greatly apologize for such a late arrival of my second installment of "What It Takes To Remember". I've have been swamped with work like crazy, and I'm continuing to be. My only saving grace now is that school is almost over (yay!), meaning I hope that it will give me more time for writing. Another good thing is, I do plan on making another story like this, but I have no idea of who to write of! So suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

Once again, I would like to thank my Betas (woo, I had two this time!), Neko and Mad for taking their time to read and critique my work! Danke guys!)

* * *

It was late in the evening when Gilbert had finally returned to the house that he and his brother, collectively given the name "West" shared. It may have not been too much, but it did hold enough room for the both of them, along with one or two other guests that needed to crash (usually meaning Francis and Antonio) to comfortably stay in. The lock of the door clicked open as soon as the albino put the key into the lock, door swinging open, only to have him come face to face with a very angry German.

"Bruder."

"Agk! W-West! I thought you were out with your little Italian boyfriend! What are you—"

"For Gott's sake, he's not my boyfriend! But that's not the point! How long does it take for you to get over your hangover? I've been here at the house waiting all day for you to come home!" Normally, Ludwig happened to be far better tempered that this when it came to the tardiness of his elder brother, but after his visit with Feliciano, who continually was asking about Gilbert and his welfare, he couldn't help but be pissed.

"Gott West it wasn't like that! Roddy was—"

"Oh so now you have to bring Roderich into this bruder? I'm ashamed of you!" The Prussian's eyes flashed in irritation and anger while he reached for the hand held phone that was on the table next to the door. He tossed it towards his brother, before just walking past and making his way downstairs to his room.

"Ask for the ER Department. Edelstein, Roderich, Room 976, in the intensive care unit. If I'm wrong, go ahead and yell at me. But you have no right to rip my head off when you know nothing."

"G-Gilbert..."

"I'm...just not up for it Ludwig. I'll be in my room if you need me." Ludwig knew it was bad. There was hardly ever a time that was good when Gilbert ever used his younger brother's real name instead of 'West', 'Bruder', or even 'Germany'. This must be serious then. The blond frowned and sighed, before beginning to dial a number into the phone.

-x-

"They said that other than continual checkups, Roderich should be out in a month or two. He'll need therapy for his memory, but by tomorrow, he'll hopefully have most of everyone's faces remembered." Gilbert shot up from under the covers and other mess that was assembled upon his bed, looking at his brother with an incredulous look.

"Wait…how the fuck does that work?"

"I sent over pictures and names of everyone. Hopefully, as the doctors said, they'll cause a trigger in his memory and he'll be able to remember other things about the person as well, instead of just their appearance and name." Everything that Gilbert had done to Roderich, that meant that it would all be remembered in the end. Some strange and unknown pang of guilt and remorse washed over the albino's consciousness, wincing at each blow of a thought as though it was real. It wasn't as if the Prussian regretted everything he had done to the Austrian; far from it. But his mind and his thoughts had changed with his time with Ivan. What had the Austrian done to him? Absolutely nothing at all. Sure, he may have been a pansy-ass, a weakling, a dummkopf, but there was no real provocation given for each and every thing that the Prussian had done to him. No rhyme or reason for him to attack just because his Empress was the leader. No reason to not have him in the German Confederation, even though he really DID have other ethnic minorities. But all of that, did he necessarily have to do? It showed that he was ashamed of everything.

"There's a chance it may also not work. He'll only remember names and faces if it is one or two memories back."

"I want to get them back for him."

"Gilbert, not just one person can go and—"

"Bruder. It's my job. Specs needs it from me." There were far and few times that Ludwig had ever seen his brother showing such a serious attitude filled with determination, such as this. In fact, he wouldn't admit it, but that determination worried him. This one time...what was so special than the others whenever Roderich got hurt?

"Fine, fine. But I'm going to help you however I can, whether you want it or not Gilbert. Roderich will most likely need you more than myself though." The words seemed to bring a smile on his face, wrapping arms around his brother, who turned scarlet at the show of affection.

"You're the best Bruder a person could ever have."

-x-

Gilbert, for one, had never been a fan of hospitals. It wasn't that they scared him or anything, more of a line of spite and contempt than anything else. He could remember the days when there were no hospitals for injured soldiers, sick innocent people, those attacked or on the brink of death; the era where one could never trust a doctor. Half of the times, or in his case being all the time, people took the idea that it was better to cure themselves than let a supposed "surgeon" decide on the course of action. So then what made all these people better than himself or those that he knew? This was different though, he supposed, for this was Roderich that was here in the hospital. His cousin needed him to help him return to normal, and he didn't need to just sit there in spite and hatred of the medical facility.

He hadn't exactly meant to have a pessimistic view, but recently, the albino had been thinking of what would happen if the brunette ever passed away. Granted, that would leave a fairly nice sized land mass open for a new representative; a good way to get Prussia back on the map once more. But then...who would he have to annoy? The last time he ever truly tried to bother West had ended with bruises and a minor concussion. Nothing that painful was truly what Gilbert needed anyway. Maybe Arthur? Sure, they got along but the fact that the Brit's magic could potentially be successful at any good point in time worried him. Elizaveta? What the hell was he even thinking? Ivan was off limits, along with his family and pets. The Asian countries were too nice...the Nordics could use any reason to beat him up...Alfred was just not Awesome enough...and...Canada was just plain too sweet, and he was not about to risk losing his supply of Maple Syrup for pancakes. He would have absolutely nobody. It wasn't as if his brother could even cook like Roderich did either. And although Gilbert hated the Bavarians (it was a mutual feeling anyway), he understood exactly their feelings. Austria, even though he was a prick, could really make you feel at home.

"_Oh Gilbert honey! I made dinner!"_

He did **NOT** just think that.

-x-

When he had arrived to the brunette's room, the Prussian was surprised to find him sitting up in some manner, looking through stacks of pictures. His hand was still clenched to the door frame, debating on if he really should enter or just walk away from the Austrian, never to bother him until he was better. It seemed though, that his muscles made up their minds, knuckles rapping against the wooden door, causing hazed violet eyes to shoot up and stare into crimson ones.

"Eheheheh... mind if I come in?"

"Not at all actually. Besides, you could probably help me remember some of these seemingly important people Gilbert." Roderich only smiled, gesturing to the large stacks of pictures scattered on his bed. One stack laid close to his right hand, something quite strange in the albino's eyes. That is until he saw his face on the top of the stack and smiled.

"What's with that other stack near your hand?"

"It's the people I remember the best out of everyone. It's people like your brother, Vash, Lili, even Elizaveta and you."

"Well...who'd you remember first?" The smirk of that ignorant idiot caused Roderich to be annoyed to no end. As if he would truly fess that it was the Prussian.

"...Ludwig." He tried hard to not smirk in triumph as the white haired man's face turned downcast. Even so, a part of the brunette's heart strained and pained for the hurt that he had just caused upon Gilbert. He even felt a twang of sympathy for his...what was Gilbert to him exactly? Roderich strained to remember, disappointed that no memories came to surface for him. How could he just forget every single thing, every person, every important time in his life as easily as a pin dropped from the hands of a small child? It struck a nerve hard for him. "Though...I'll admit. My memory is a little foggy in the end no matter what."

The crimson-eyed mane just glared, before finally smirking. "Well, I'm sure my awesomeness can cause far worse amnesia than you already have Roddy~." _'Please say that it was me. Please call me an idiot. Please be my Roderich again!'_

"Oh shut up idiot, and come help me with these people." Gilbert nodded, sitting down close to the Austrian's bedside before holding up pictures of countless people; government officials, former rulers, composers and musicians, even the other countries. Every now and then Gilbert would say something to help Roderich along with the memories, such as "You and Berwald are good friends" or "Be careful when it comes to Ivan. He is very brutal and violent...I know from experience." It just seemed that the brunette could naturally absorb all this information in, processing it so well, that by the time the white-haired man left three hours later, everything he had said to Roderich would be repeated word for word, sometimes even more back to him about every picture.

The sun had already cast the last few coral and tangerine rays of light down upon the darkening earth as Gilbert drove home. There was a smile on his face from the positive chatter he had heard from the doctors over the steadily improving conditions of the Austrian man. Maybe this whole thing would work out in the end...

-x-

After a month of formal recovery, Roderich was able to leave the hospital after one final check. The nurse gave him a quick run over his wounds that were now only slightly scarred that were on his chest from the stabbings. Only after signing a slip of paper and handing it to the bespectacled man did she smile. "Looking quite good Sir, so you should be free to go. Just please if you would, check out at the front desk of the main lobby." Roderich nodded before flashing that smile of his, walking out of his room, only to see the albino waiting for him.

"G-Gilbert...what are you doing here? Isn't it Friday? You should be out with your brot—"

"Never mind him. I'm taking you home. From there, we're going to talk about what all you've missed due to being cooped up in here. Understood?" The Austrian frowned, nodding ever so slightly, before taking the pale outstretched hand and walking out of the hospital, getting into the car with help and driven off to his home. The ride was one of silence, where there was no talk of how they had both felt that tingle, the strange twist of innards from the skin to skin contact there in the dispensary only moments ago.

He was surprised at how short the ride seemed to be, finding that they had arrived back far soon than Roderich had thought it would take. Yet already out in front of the Edelstein Manor, there stood the tall blond German, as if waiting. "Gilbert? Why is your brother at my home?"

"We decided that there was no way in hell after you were attacked so badly once that we're letting you be all alone in this house. Now shut up and come inside with me." The Prussian just held the door open while the Austrian tried hard to get out of the humming metal machine without causing too much pain to his chest. But no matter how hard he tired to silence the winces or sharp gasps of his suffering they did not fall on deaf ears. They were heard perfectly by the Prussian, whose keen instincts told him how Roderich was truly in pain.

"Oi...let me help you idiot."

"Nein, nein...I'm fine. The doctors said I needed to move around more and such anyway." Red eyes just glared at him before arms wrapped around his chest; arms that were surprisingly gentle, pulling him out before shifting to help the man walk into his home. Those arms...something deep in him twisted, a feeling of both nausea and butterflies churning in his stomach, while his mind kept trying to tell him there was more to Gilbert's actions.

There was a fire already lit in the hearth of the main living room, two armchairs drawn close to the flames that were radiating their warmth. Gilbert tenderly sat Roderich into one chair, before taking his place across from the other. This was going to be incredibly hard; it was never easy for one nation to have to explain to another of their kind that was younger, what exactly they were: embodiments of countries that could never die like a human, living long, hardly knowing what it was like to truly age. They would see all the pain and suffering of their nation, and feel the wars or sufferings of their people. Even Gilbert knew of the pains; he bore countless scars and wounds to prove it, and hell, he was technically supposed to be dead. And yet here he was, sitting next to the Austrian, somehow still breathing. One of his jokes was that he was too "awesome" to go live in Heaven, that he was just turned away from God. But of course he knew it all was a total lie. He would be turned away by God for everything that he had done, instead just to be banished to the deepest pits of Hell.

"Look, before you yell at me for all of this that I haven't told you yet, you have to understand that I didn't tell you because I was more concerned for your health. Plus, if you were told on half the drugs you were on, you'd probably not even remember." Roderich frowned, before sighing.

"Ja, ja, I get it. Just please get on with it."

"You not a normal person Roderich, just as much as I'm not. Ludwig isn't normal. All those pictures of people from one stack you identified were not normal. Ivan...Elizaveta...Lili...Vash...they're not human. We're all nations...ok, well I'm not anymore due to the Kingdom of Prussia not existing anymore. It's you and Ludwig's handiwork that has kept me alive, which I swear I'm grateful for." The words sunk deeply into the Brunette's mind, stewing and festering.

"If...we're all countries...who am I?"

"The Republic of Austria..."

"Ich bein Österreich... I am Austria." It was hard for his mind to comprehend. To think that one single person could be an entire nation seemed highly improbable. Yet he knew it to be correct. And yet he had thoughts...faint memories...

"_Pfft! Why are you so weak? I could beat you with my hands tied behind my back! Kesesese!" The Albino smirked in triumph as a pair of spectacles were dangling over the outstretched hands of a brunette, but were just out of range for grabbing. The violet eyed nation pouted, face looking as though he was about to cry. Only the other two children, the red-eyed Prussian and the green-eyed Hungarian were there with him, laughing at what they considered to be a pitiful excuse of a nation. "If you can't get these glasses from mich, I can keep them, ja?"_

"_N-Nein! No! I need them to see! I'll be blind without them! Please...bitte...bitte...just give them back!" The tears that flowed from the Austrian's eyes brought forth a strange feeling of pity to the Prussian that was hidden deep in the depths of his heart and mind. He flung the glasses to the ground in front of Roderich's feet, dismissing it with "I'd look like an idiot if I wore them. Who needs glasses anyway? I'm too awesome for them!" 'Besides, they look nice on you Roderich...'_

"Y-You..." When red locked onto violet, Gilbert could see by the pained look in those eyes that something was for sure wrong. It was a look of fear, be it out of worry of physical violence...or some variant of terrified realization. "You..." he mumbled again, scooting in the chair further back from the Prussian. "You always bullied me Gilbert…why are you helping me now?" Had he really remembered something? Perhaps that was how memories were brought back from being deeply buried in Roderich's unconsciousness. The paler man got up, before walking behind his counterpart's chair, arms wrapping around him while lips kissed the brunette's hair, hoping that somehow it would be a calming gesture.

"Maybe it's because I hate to see you like this. Just so weak and hopeless."

'_Maybe...it's because I think that I might love you.'_

-x-

"Dudes! It's time to start this world conference! I think we should discuss..."

How was it that even with all the hustle and bustle of a world conference Gilbert's mind could easily wander. It only seemed to think on a certain man in a certain manor, in a certain Austrian capital.

"Gilbert...focus." The German leaned over, a hand gently clamped to the pale man's arm. "You have the meeting's floor." With these words, the Prussian stood up, looked around the room glaring once before shaking his head. God damn, he hoped this would work.

"Oi...yeah. If you idiots haven't realized, there's some annoying pan- ahem... Roderich is missing from this conference. This would be due to a fact that he is unable to come and join us without injury." Gilbert paused before starting again. "This comes from how he was brutally attacked a month ago. He received thirteen stab wounds, along with a nice hit to the head, resulting in serious head trauma." There were gasps of shock; Francis was biting a hankie in sorrow, Antonio clung sadly to his little Italian. Elizaveta just looked plain pissed off, though tears were in her eyes. Others, like Arthur, were completely outraged. And finally, there were those that didn't seem to care at all. Ivan just sat there smiling like normal, Natalya with that ever strange and present look of murder, Feliks who was just painting his nails like normal, Norway who never showed emotion, and Bulgaria just smirked. It was a moment before the Russian spoke.

"Gilbert...how can you prove it was one of us? You have no true proof, Да?"

"Shut up idiot. I'll find out who did it!"

"What makes you think that we don't even think that it could've been you? Prove to us all that you are innocent."

"I—" But he stopped. For once, the bastard Russian spoke the truth. Who would believe that he had just gone and found the Austrian in his dilapidated form? "...I can't. But I can promise you this. I will find the person. And when I do...I will make it hell for them." And deep eyes just started in horror at the Prussian making his statement before closing in silent prayer.

"He won't find me..."

* * *

Translations:

**Bruder:** Fairly obvious, meaning brother in German.

**Gott:** Once again, fairly obvious, meaning God in German.

**Dummkopf:** A variant of Idiot in German.

**Nein: **No in German

**Ja: **Yes in German (and a few other languages but that's not my point here.)

**Ich bein Österreich: **I feel like this is going to entirely be wrong, but yeah. German for "I am Austria".

**Mich: **Me (or I believe myself) in German.

**Bitte: **Please in German.

**Да:** Yes in Russian.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys! Whitecherry here, with you long awaited update on this work. I really won't lie to you, so I'm going to tell you what all happened.

So, I remember saying that the next chapter was going to be up quickly, and yet...here it is only now. I for one...didn't calculate the extent of what my trip overseas would bring me. In fact, I don't think I've ever been this tired in my life from it. So I regret not being able to write in that time span for everyone, as I know this was what people may have been waiting for. The good news is, I already have plans for chapter four, a chapter filled with mystery and perhaps Gilbert dressed as Sherlock Holmes will be seen. Then againnnnnn, if nobody inspires me, it's going to be a long and hard chapter.

On a different note, I'm proud to say that I believe this is going to be the first chapter that I'll be butchering the German language completely aware of it...mostly because I think I'm starting to scare my translation resource of what I ask of him (aka, my dad). Plus, I finally introduce to you, the Austro-Bavarian (I think that's what it is, the source I just got it from says "Austrian") dialect of German...which I would love to include more of, but I'm clueless at that point.

* * *

Needless to say, it was certainly not one of those quiet days in the Edelstein manor. In fact, with the German and the Prussian with him, it was hardly ever quiet. There was always loud music coming from the room next door, with a scratchy voice always singing along in whatever language was being screamed. Other times it was barking dogs running through the house, or the clanking of a hammer against wood or metal; this generally came a little later with the sound of a coo coo clock or chimes. After a while though, Roderich had settled into these conditions, learning that, such as around four in the afternoon, the dogs would bark meaning that they needed out. Gilbert would often come and slam his room's door around three in the morning, playing what Roderich later learned was Rammstein after coming from the bar. Today though, was far different from normal from what the Austrian could hear. Sure, there was the occasional screaming or yelling between the two brothers, but not to this extreme. "Ah well, let them settle their quarrel...I don't need to be involved."

Gilbert knew that the fight with Ludwig was utterly pointless, but as he said "Prussians never back down", and this was one thing he was not going to give to his brother. Why was he even arguing over what to do next? Sure, it had been only a two weeks after Gilbert had imposed the whole 'You're a Nation' deal upon Roderich, but so what? Specs needed his memories back ASAP. But why was Ludwig trying to hold him back from it? There was no need for rest when it comes to taking care of the Austrian with the Prussian, so why should the brunette get rest unlike Gilbert's own being? Why wasn't it that West did not just get what he was trying to do for Roderich? It was as if the German cared less about his cousin's current condition than just continuing his work without it being distracted by their work to help his healing. Now, that he finally got Ludwig to agree over how they needed the Austrian better all they argued about was what to do over his memories.

"We're taking him to Rossbach West!"

"That would just be insensitive to his feelings bruder! Take him somewhere were he may have been happy."

"Why do I get no say in any of this? You treat me like I'm a child! I can take him wherever I fucking well please! And I say Rossbach!"

"Wasn't Rossbach one of your best battles ever?"

"Ja! Old Fritz was amazing there! Complete loss from the French and Austrians...I swear I can still see the day perfectly in my dreams."

"You're heartless if you want to take him somewhere where he's going to suffer by remembering all the pain you've brought him." The words caught the Prussian in surprise. Heartless? It wasn't heartless...Rossbach was an important site to him; who knows what kinds of vivid memories he could have Roderich remember from such a place? Who cares if it was a place of victory to the albino, it shouldn't matter if it was victory or defeat that were to cause any remembering of the Austrian's past back.

"Where the hell would you suggest taking Roderich then? Some land filled with ponies and sparkles where we can prance and act like the priss he is?"

"Name me some of his victories over you during the Silesian Wars then."

"Fuck." Yes, Gilbert could remember every victory that the Austrians held from the wars against the Prussians indeed, but why did that one have to stand out? It was hard enough thinking of it, but as he choked out "Kunersdorf" to his brother, the white haired man thought he would fall back in defeat once more. But looking back...thinking even of it...it was as if he was there once more...

"_Fritz...don't go out there, bitte...I can't lose you...you know what you mean to mich."_

"_Gilbert, meine liebe. You know what these battles mean to me. I have to go out there, for the sake of my people. I want them to know...that not only do I care for you, but for also themselves. These are my people that I have thrusted into a war, and I want to show that I am truly thankful for it." Beautiful words...that's what they were to the Prussian's eyes. He quickly wiped his face, the tears that were starting to form hidden away forever, before he pulled his king into an embrace. The king just laughed and hugged back, smiling at the rarely seen tender affections of the albino._

"_Dankeschön...so much Fritz."_

-x-

For all the life he had lived so far, Gilbert could never remember turning down a chance to go out and drink. That is, until now.

"Gilbert, I swear I'm fine...you go out with Francis and Antonio and have some fun. We could go another day or something else later." It had taken a while for Roderich to get over his fear of the Prussian after the first wave of memories had returned to him; he still occasionally had fits in his sleep where he dreamed of his childhood that was filled with the constant abuse and bullying. It was only when he awoke to find the albino laying next to him, kissing his hair and whispering nothings that would brush away his fear that he would calm down. Often these were just simple words of comfort, but they were key, and often Roderich would just lay there with his eyes closed, listening to the beauty of those worlds from the other while he would pretend to sleep.

"What did I say before. I'm not leaving you alone. Ludwig's out with his little Italian boy toy of course, so that would have left you with an empty house. And I won't be letting that happen in case of any dangerous problems occurring. Plus, I had plans arranged with you today already," Gilbert smirked, the Austrian's chest twisting into discomfort at the expression. 'Oh dear lord, I'm going to die by his hand!'

"We're going to Kunersdorf priss. No need to worry over your pretty little self. I actually think you'll like it." 'Then again...I think it happens to be the world's worst place.' The smirk once held in confidence broke away to a frown as the Prussian thought back to that day.

_The pounding of artillery…volleys of musket fire, the clanging of blades that were constantly locked in ferocious battle, the sounds of the dying and the shouts of the living. All were music to the Prussian: a symphony of destruction that was filled with cacophonous sounds of pain and suffering. Gilbert's red eyes gleamed in madness at the opposing forces. Roderich, the dummkopf, had gone and allied himself with Russia; a dangerous choice to make when dealing with war. But both armies, while heavily manned, lacked much of the formal training his own troops had, the exact reason why Gilbert Beilschmidt would be winning this battle , that is, the brunette ordered for a cavalry charge._

_Gilbert knew that even Roderich realized the risks involved with a cavalry charge; the technique many coined to be a double edged sword. There was always a billion different outcomes of an attack such as that, though the albino's focus was mainly on three. One was total destruction, where the advancing cavalry would be completely obliterated by vollies of fire and artillery. The second was success for the Austrian, where they would attack the heart of the troops and slaughter mercilessly. But it was the third option that worried Gilbert the most: the destruction of both parties, leaving the Russian to free range the battle. _

"So what's so important about this place...what was it called again?" The Austrian stared out the car window in fascination; it was all new land to him. Every ounce of marshy and woody land seemed to surprise but intrest him greatly, filling him with a strange energy and joy. The scenery just seemed to bring a sense of peace to his being, and a smile to his face. Gilbert had to admit, it was a rare moment, something he had hardly ever seen before, Roderich actually smiling and looking as though he was enjoying something for once. It was hard enough to not lean over and pinch his cheeks much like a granny does to a child.

"Well, you and I know it as Kunersdorf Roddy...I mean Roderich." That look over at the nickname showed him to remember to keep calling him formally. "Anyway, Feliks...Poland, he doesn't care for German, and technically, it's his land now (the Polish bastard stole it from me), and well...it's technically Kunowice now. I'll tell you more as soon as we get exactly where we need to be." Gilbert just turned away, looking straight ahead and trying to not stare at the expression of confusion on the Austrian's face.

-x-

"Gilbert...are you sure we're still on the path? I really feel like we aren't." A look of pure terror was plaguing the brunette's face, as the swampy scenery and hills rose around his persona. Both of them were out of the car, hiking along what the Prussian at least claimed to be a trail, although to the eyes of the Austrian, it looked as though they were walking straight through if they were to get lost? That would be the worst to Roderich; he never wished to die in the wild, and not because of the stupid actions of the Prussian in front of him. "Maybe we need to turn back..." But his words were stopped with a shush by the albino, who pushed the last green branches before they came out onto a lone hill, a small plaque with a stone sitting dead center. The Austrian looked on in surprise and confusion, before turning back to the Prussian, giving him a stare before walking out to the marker.

"_In Ehre von jenen, sowohl österreichisch als auch preußisch, die ihre Leben auf diesem heiligen Schlachtfeld des Kriegs auf erhabenem 12, 1759 verloren haben. Gott segnen alle jenen, die jetzt im heiligen Reich wohnen."_

"What does it mean? It says both Austrian and Prussian. I do not get it at all Gilbert." Damn it, he should have just walked away when he had the chance. No doubt if there was any trouble, he could have gotten ahold of Feliks and asked the Pole to take care of Roderich while he stayed away from this hell...a hell of his that meant so much to him. His only truly heart-felt defeat, one that unfortunately was held by his rival, the Austrian. Kunersdorf...Kunowice...whatever it would be called...it would be his hell hole, and a sanctuary none the less to the Austrian's mind.

"Roderich..." Why were words so hard to form for him? He was the almighty Prussia; a god among men, blessed beyond compared with God's love and grace for many centuries before falling from it swiftly, only to be shown a small pathway to salvation. "Roderich," he whispered again, staring into violet eyes that seemed to bore into him. "We fought here...don't you get it? As in, we were trying to kill one another."

'One another.' The words upon the plaque and the albino's words came to one thought. 'We fought one another; I fought him.' Masses of bodies around his person, blades clashing. It covered the beautiful scenery with one blood read painting. 'I fought him...I achieved victory.' The Austrian just stared at the Prussian out of fear, and yet, felt as though he could be on top of the world, as vivid and bloody scenes raced through his head.

_War was never his thing unlike Gilbert. Yes, they both grew up to do the same thing; war upon those against Christianity or such, but to the Austrian, it was only worse than following some different God. This was taking a person's life from them, as if you were gripping the cold, hard soul of somebody and tearing it out of the container that was flesh. Roderich abhored it all, while the Prussian seemed to get off of death and glory._

_If he hated this though, why was he then sitting there, upon that white steed, looking out over the smoky, blood-stained field of torture and destruction, the large Russian at his side staring down as well with a smirk on his face? The brunette knew he sold his soul to the devil with the Russian for help, that enough was obvious, but they now were comrades in arms, slaughtering masses of people that had no chance to live. How could he just stand there and let that all happen?_

"_Gott mit uns..." The words were barely whispered before deep violet eyes clashed with paler ones across from him. "I'm leading my cavalry into charging the front. If successful, that will cause the remainder on the main front to retreat, causing a large gap in the forces." The blonde just nodded, only to move once more to gazing at the carnage below._

_The bugle was sounded, the order for charge screamed out to the world, as the Austrian rushed forward on his steed into the crowded mass of Prussians, sword raised to the skies to blow strikes upon those that were below him. The main commander upon his own saddle turned, and looked on in horror as Roderich stared. Frederich der Grosse, in the flesh before him on the field of battle...was this fate that they were to meet head on? His hand reacted in instinct, reaching for pistol, aiming and firing. The King fell back, and two shouts in German went up into the air; of victory and of worry. Roderich charged forward on the horse, sword drawn and raised above his head, only to find when he lowered the blade towards the fallen king that a clash and a blade met his own. Red eyes, white hair, and a dirt covered face stared back at himwith anger blazing as if it were fire in his eyes._

"_You can attack me. You can attack my men. But you do not DARE to touch my King!" The prussian spat at the Austrian, before Roderich pulled himself off the just looked on in surprise as when the brunette's feet touched the groud, he dusted off his jacket before extending his blade out; the albino barely had time to deflect the blade from hitting his face._

"_Very well then, __Fetznschädl__, we will fight like gentlemen, instead of such a foul deed I did by attacking your ruler. En guarde!" Men scattered, forming into a ring so that their leaders could do fated battle, while Frederich was quickly carried away from the front lines. Metal to metal, muscles flexing with all their might against matching strength, even eyes did battle with opposition right in front of them as Roderich and Gilbert danced a waltz of war with one another. But eventually, strength cunning prevailed, knocking back raw strength to the ground and digging it's sword into the tattered red cape of the Prussian as Roderich knelt down next to him._

"_You know...I would quite like to summon a painter to immortalize this defeat of yours in such a manner of my blade. Perhaps I shall have it framed and hanging in my chambers forever."_

-x-

_Hours later, the Russian and Austrian stood together, watching about as dead were carried away from the battlefield, while the men under both nation's command were celebrating their great victory over the Prussians. Roderich just looked on and smiled, the thought of a certain albino at the side of his dying king in the woods as a tactical retreat just brought joy to him._

"Y-You...Silesia. And...we're enemies." Roderich stared on in horror as Gilbert just winced, seemingly just shrinking away as if he was trying to retreat from the truth. "I remember it! You attacked me and stole Silesia away because we wouldn't give it to you! I shot your king! But in the end he didn't die. It was the golden tobacco box that saved his life by catching the bullet...I had been quite upset after finding that out later on." It seemed that it was possible for the albino to pale, for he turned whiter than when he was forced to remember this all.

"This is why I hate Kunersdorf...I suffered most to you here. Treated as poorly as I had treated you in the second Silesian War...and yet I felt at the time as if I was forever ashamed." Gilbert just glared daggers at the Austrian before spreading his arms wide. "Is this what you want to remember? The hatred here? Then go ahead! As if I care! I just am trying to help you for Gott's sake, and you just treat it as if it's nothing!"

"I don't need help from the likes of some war-mongering idiotic nation!"

"Then don't expect my help anymore! Live your fucking life in the damn past Roderich Edelstein. You'll find your fucking present day to be far different." With that the two exchanged one last glance, before walking off in opposite directions.

* * *

**Author's Translations**

**Dankeschön**- a formal way in German to say thank you, compared to just "Danke".

**"In Ehre von jenen, sowohl österreichisch als auch preußisch, die ihre Leben auf diesem heiligen Schlachtfeld des Kriegs auf erhabenem 12, 1759 verloren haben. Gott segnen alle jenen, die jetzt im heiligen Reich wohnen."** – This one, I'm pretty sure I've gone and messed up. I used a translator of course (dear lord!), but it's not Google. I basically came out with "In honor of both Austrians and Prussians who lost their lives on this sacred battlefield of war on August 12, 1759. God bless those who now live in the sacred realm of God."

**Gott mit Uns**- God be with us basically

**Fetznschädl**- I'm not too sure with this one, but I believe it is Idiot in the Austro-Bavarian dialect of German.


End file.
